The North Carolina NAACP held a rally this week to keep Vidant Pungo Hospital in Belhaven, N.C., open, according to a WITN report.
Last month, Greenville, N.C.-based Vidant Health said it will close the 25-bed Vidant Pungo Hospital and build a 24-hour multispecialty care clinic in its place. David Herman, MD, president and CEO of Vidant, said the critical access hospital was not financially sustainable, but the clinic will still provide vital care to the community.
The NAACP said closing Vidant Pungo Hospital would leave the community without an emergency room, meaning people will have to travel farther for emergency care. The group plans to meet with Vidant and state legislators, and it may consider filing a class-action lawsuit over the matter, according to the report.
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